At 69, Steve Zuntag is the oldest player in the Staten Island Amateur field and made a big statement on Tuesday.Advance File Photo/Hilton Flores

Steve Zuntag, the oldest player in the field at 69, played a game that showed no sign of age Tuesday when he knocked off Lou Cantelmo in the opening round of match play in the Staten Island Amateur at Richmond County CC.

Zuntag, the Amateur champ in 1972 and 1991, played a nip-and-tuck match with Cantelmo through the opening nine and made the turn all-square, having shot a 3-over-par 38. Cantelmo led the 36-hole public course qualifier with a 144.

The veteran was 1-down after 10, but leveled the match with a par at the 12th. Zuntag won 14, 15 and 16 to win 3 and 2.

Tom Giordano, another senior, also pulled off an upset by nipping Joe Rafferty on the final hole after playing the previous six holes all even.

Matthew Zuntag pulled off another upset, ousting 1996 Amateur champion Chad Marrone 1-up. A very close match throughout, Marrone had his hands full with the younger Zuntag, who had a 39 on the outgoing side to keep the match even.

Marrone was 2-up through 14, but Zuntag got the putter working and won the 15th 16th and 17th with pars and ended the contest with a par on 18 to win 1-up.

Matt Chiminski of the LaTourette Club (seeded 28th) held it together down to the wire to defeat John Baranello (5th seed) on the final hole 1-up with a winning par.

Eric Delin took a 2-up lead over Dan Pizutto after the sixth and held it through 13 holes. They went even when Pizutto won 14 and 15 with pars, but Delin went ahead with a birdie at 16. Pizutto leveled it again with a winning par at 17, but the 1-up victory went to Delin with a par at the final hole.

James Buttermark, the 2010 champion, stopped Mike Ryan after 12 holes when he posted a strong 37 on the opening nine to go 5-up. Buttermark won at the 10th and closed in out on the 12th.

Defending champion Mike Pszczola was 1-up through nine against RCCC’s Glenn Sheehan, but grew the lead to 3-up after 12.

Sheehan fought back with solid par wins at 14 and 15, but Pszczola closed the door with a winning par at the 17th hole for a 2-and-1 victory.